Homage to Contemporary Bullshido

Month: September 2016

Neither the current Liberal-National coalition nor the Australian Labor Party have shown any inclination to level with the Australian people about the economic predicament we find ourselves in – massive private debt, an economy which has been stripped back by government policy (both sides of politics) to doing nothing more than exporting dirt, or growing things on top of it, to earn national income.

That earning capacity is largely in the hands of international capital (of the kind marketing through Singapore or Panama to minimise taxes and maximise returns for shareholders somewhere other than Australia) when it is involved in digging things out of the ground. When it comes to growing things on the ground much of the growing is still done by local but the choke points through which it is exported or processed are largely controlled by foreign interests.

We have dealt ourselves out of the game of generating income through applying our brains – of being a price maker in any field whatsoever. We offer only overpriced services of interest only to those in Australia or those who want to be in Australia (for whatever reason) – and the world’s most expensive real estate, serviced by the world’s most indebted population, employed in the world’s most uncompetitive economy. It’s almost comic. Continue reading

Government proposals requiring real estate agents to look at the passports of buyers in order to prove their identity and basis for buying Australian real estate have been likened to requiring yellow stars on their clothing by the Property Council of Australia, who have also warned about the health impact on ‘honest Australian property speculators’

‘University tests have shown conclusively that imposing buyer identification requirements increases the risk of tinea cruris, thrush and ringworm on potential families looking to purchase their first home in Australia’ said Andrew Mihno – Executive Director International Capital Markets – of the PCA before adding ‘and it is common knowledge that requiring anyone in the real estate industry to look at who is buying houses is highly carcinogenic and related to higher incidences of testicular cancer, lung cancer, spleen tumours and polyp formations on the forehead of those required make enquiries. This proposal entails risks which would need to be factored in, and would lead to higher transaction costs for vendors.’Continue reading